Astreja Wrote:*sighs heavily* Yes, RR, testimony is indeed evidence.
Very weak evidence.
Testimony has to be framed in terms of possibility and plausibility. If I say I went out for lunch with my friend John, that's both possible and plausible. If I say that John and I flew to Madrid for lunch, that's possible but implausible. If I say we got picked up by Dr. Who in the TARDIS, went to 11th century Madrid for lunch, and my guardian dragon Glori came along with us, I'd expect you to laugh at me.
And there's consequences to consider. If your lunch with John is his alibi for a murder, we should thoroughly investigate your claim that John was having lunch with you at that time. Suddenly the 'why would you lie about that and if you are lying about it, so what?' part of the Bayesian calculation has changed.
I'm not anti-Christian. I'm anti-stupid.